Why I’m No Longer a Vegetarian

In my New Years Resolution post, I mentioned that I wanted to become a vegetarian. When I originally wrote that blog post, I had every intention to make that lifestyle change. I prayed for strength daily because I knew that this wasn’t going to be an easy task. After a month of no meat, I quickly realized that this wasn’t working. Being a vegetarian just didn’t fit my lifestyle…at the moment. Here are my four reasons why I stopped being a vegetarian.

Going out to eat was difficult

Prior to being a vegetarian, I loved going to different restaurants. TGI Fridays, Olive Garden, Subway; you name it, I ate it. However, when I cut out meat, I eliminated a lot of the meals that I loved at different places. (It’s important to note that I wasn’t a full vegetarian; I was still eating fish.) Keeping fish a part of my diet made things a little easier. However, every restaurant doesn’t offer fish. Plus, I live in an area where there aren’t a lot of vegetarian options, so I was stuck eating a lot of side dishes if there weren’t any fish options. As a result of this, I often didn’t have full meals unless I cooked.

My Parents eat meat

Becoming a vegetarian required me to cook a lot of my meals because my parents were eating meat. My parents were indifferent about my decision, but they just made it VERY clear that they weren’t going to change their diet (which I was completely aware of). Making such lifestyle change was difficult because I had no control of the food that came in the house.

I had to cook more

Now, I love a good home cooked meal, but I HATE cooking. When it comes to cooking, I am so lazy lol. Since my parents weren’t going to cook any vegetarian meals, I had to be responsible for my breakfast, lunch and dinner, plus school and other responsibilities. For a brief moment I considered meal prep, but that could be a lot of pressure on me. I usually finalize my work and school stuff on a Sunday, so cooking a week’s worth of food would complicate things.

My parents would eat my food

Whenever I would cook, my parents would take my food and couple it with meat as if it were a side. That infuriated me. The whole point of me cooking was for me to provide food for myself, since they were eating things that I couldn’t. Since they were also indulging in my food, the food didn’t last as long as I planned.

After a month of eating vegetables (and the occasional fish entrée) I had to give up becoming a vegetarian…for the moment. I enjoyed the colorful meals I created, so I plan to embark on this journey again. Next time, I plan to attempt this when I move out. This way I will have more control over what food comes in and what is being prepared.